Go to University and Major in Manga?
I am somewhat surprised by this, but I shouldn’t be, manga is a big industry so why shouldn’t a 4 year degree be more common?
For some people, manga may not stack up as a high-brow subject like Chinese classics or nuclear physics, but universities in Japan are increasingly offering courses on comic culture as part of their curriculum.
The first attempts to set up manga departments were greeted skeptically because universities were considered unsuited to fostering manga artists who needed creative ideas and drawing ability to be successful.
Despite the doubts, a few graduates of manga departments have moved on to professional careers.
The universities offer various courses to help prospective manga artists.
At Kobe Design University, a special class held in February offered students the opportunity to present their work to editors of manga magazines.
The one-on-one sessions often involved direct criticism of a student’s work.
One editor said, “You have to make your story understandable to everyone.”
Another student was told, “Your idea is a good one, but the story kind of fizzles out part of the way through.”
Some students got teary-eyed during the session.
The special class was for sophomores majoring in manga in the Department of Media Arts of the School of Progressive Arts.
Since January, editors from at least 10 manga magazines have visited the campus for sessions with the students.
One traditional way manga artists have gotten a break has been to visit publishing companies and show their work to editors.
Those considered talented by the editors have had their work published, and others are often given advice on how to improve their work.
The special class was designed to train the students in selling their works to editors.
Not only do the students become accustomed to dealing with editors, they also receive advice from professionals.
Naoto Hashimoto, 20, appreciated the feedback he got by attending the special class.
“We are shown where we are weak and other things are pointed out that we may never have considered. I really appreciated being able to meet an editor.”
Such practical help has benefited the first class of manga majors who graduated this spring. Of the 20 in that first cohort, 16 have won some kind of award for newcomers or have been in regular contact with an editor.
Eiji Otsuka, the professor in charge of the manga program, said, “While it is like a bonus, it is the result of thoroughly thinking about how a manga story develops and also about movie-like story lines and the relationship between a plot and characters.”
The curriculum for a manga major is not easy.
Students have to produce the equivalent of about 400 pages of storyboard over a year. In every class, students are trained to create stories and characters.
There are also projects to create anime and movies.
Even students who entered as freshmen without ever having written a manga develop a certain level of skill after four years.
Some students have made their debut while still in university.
Masato Yamaguchi, 21, a junior in the Department of Manga of the Faculty of Arts at Tokyo Polytechnic University, had his work, “Uchu rescue” (Outer space rescue) published in the Shukan Shonen Magazine (Weekly youth magazine) Special by Kodansha Ltd.
At least 10 universities offer majors or courses on manga and animation.
The pioneer was Kyoto Seika University, which established what is the only manga faculty in Japan in 2006. The faculty is fairly large. It has a capacity of 200 students per year.
When the predecessor to Kyoto Seika University began as a junior college in 1968, it was already offering classes on manga.
They were upgraded to manga courses in 1973 and a manga department was established in 2000.
The central government’s white paper on education took notice of the university’s endeavor “as one doing research on manga as a scholarly field.”
In the 2010 school year, a master’s program in manga studies starts at Kyoto Seika.
“As a university, we want to provide a path that will allow graduates to become connected to society,” said Keiko Takemiya, head of the manga faculty.
